147
7
This chapter examines two essential elements of a
business ethics program: (a) communicating stan-
dards, procedures, and expectations and (b) learning
what is going on in the enterprise. Communication
in the responsible business enterprise (RBE) is
mutual—that is, owners and managers strive to
make sure employees and agents understand their
standards, procedures, and expectations, and own-
ers, managers, supervisors, workers, and agents alike
have the information they need when they need it.
An RBE also engages its external stakeholders in
order to foster reasonable expectations and deter-
mine stakeholder satisfaction.
Communicating and Providing Feedback
For an enterprise to be responsible, all stakeholders
must have a complete understanding of their roles
and responsibilities in the workings of its business
ethics infrastructure. Moreover, managers must
know whether the enterprise’s standards, proce-
dures, and expectations are adequate to meet the
reasonable expectations of its stakeholders.1
This chapter describes the infrastructure and best
practices used by an RBE to communicate its stan-
dards, procedures, and expectations and to ensure
that they are being followed and met. Owners and
managers ask themselves two fundamental questions:
Business Ethics
Communications and
Feedback
• Communicating
and Providing
Feedback
• Communicating
Standards and
Fostering
Reasonable
Expectations
• Ensuring
Members Follow
Standards and
Meet
Expectations

1. How can we most effectively communicate our standards and proce-
dures and foster reasonable expectations among our stakeholders?
2. How can we know that our members follow our standards and that
reasonable stakeholder expectations are met?2
Communicating Standards and Fostering Reasonable Expectations
A primary cultural characteristic of an enterprise is the extent to which
knowledge is shared.3
Communication within an RBE is not top-down but
instead flows in all directions. How the elements of a business ethics pro-
gram are communicated is an integral part of the program itself. The man-
ner in which owners and managers communicate the value they place in the
148 Business Ethics
Information Flow and Corporate Social
Responsibility
The central shortcoming of the current state-of-the-art in terms of
corporate social responsibility stems from the weakness of the force that
drives and animates it—market-relevant, credible, comparable informa-
tion.Without good-quality information, consumers and investors cannot
consistently and accurately voice preferences through markets, and
managers cannot make efficient and strategic decisions about change in
production processes and product design.
Lyuba Zarsky
”Beyond Good Deeds”
PRACTICENOTE
program through the choices they make, the things they say, and what they
do or fail to do will define the program for most other stakeholders.
DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM
For owners and managers to communicate about responsible business con-
duct, they must be working from a communications program that delivers a

clear and consistent message of what it means for the enterprise to be
responsible. It must include all enterprise employees and agents and reach
beyond them to include all other stakeholders, as appropriate.
Formal communications are the most obvious aspect: program
announcements, company newsletters, new employee orientation, training
programs, posters, annual and social responsibility reports, speeches, and
meetings. Informal communications may include managers explaining how
they arrived at a decision, experienced workers telling the newly hired “how
things really work around here,” and all forms of rumor and gossip. Owners
and managers must be alert to both forms of communication. If formal com-
munications tell one story while informal communications tell another,
stakeholders often become frustrated and cynical.
In planning the communications program, owners and managers need to
identify their stakeholders and prioritize communication efforts among
them. They must consider how best to reach particular stakeholders. As with
every other aspect of a business ethics program, the communications pro-
gram must reflect an accurate understanding of the relevant context and
organizational culture.
The communications program also needs to address how to solicit and
respond to feedback from employees and other stakeholders. Feedback helps
the enterprise track whether its standards and procedures are known and fol-
lowed—and whether reasonable stakeholder expectations are being met.
Know the Audience
For the RBE, the target audience includes all stakeholders. Stakeholders and
their interests are identified through the processes of scanning the relevant
context and organizational culture described in Chapter 4. Through these
processes, owners and managers gain a firm understanding of what is
required of the enterprise for its business ethics program to be effective.
Stakeholders, whether internal or external, often have widely differing
perspectives on enterprise standards, procedures, and expectations.
Communications to stakeholders must be tailored to guide their behavior or
foster reasonable expectations accordingly.
Internal stakeholders can be categorized in terms of their interest in ethics:
• Some employees are ethical enthusiasts. These employees hold views on
corporate responsibility that are strong enough to influence their choice
of employer.4
• Others are ethically committed. These employees have adopted enterprise
standards, procedures, and expectations in principle but still require sup-
port. They need to be assured that their choices and actions will meet the
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 149

enterprise’s expectations. They also need to know that if they follow
enterprise standards and procedures they can still succeed. For example,
most employees will be relieved to know that bribery and other corrupt
practices are prohibited by the enterprise, but they will be distressed if
owners and managers look the other way when fellow employees contin-
ue to bribe purchasing agents to meet quotas or gain bonuses.
• Other employees are ethically unaware. These employees are not aware
of—or have not yet embraced—these standards, procedures, and expec-
tations and need to be educated about them, employees’ individual roles
and responsibilities, and the business ethics infrastructure built to ensure
that standards, procedures, and expectations are honored.
• Still other employees are ethically challenged. They have quietly rejected
enterprise standards and procedures because they make lucrative “busi-
ness as usual” more difficult. These people need to be advised that (a) the
enterprise is dedicated to its standards, procedures, and expectations and
(b) deviation from them will not be tolerated. Often, these people will
self-select themselves out of the enterprise when they come to appreci-
ate that owners and managers are genuinely committed. If not, owners
and managers need to lay the foundation to remove or isolate them, as
discussed in Chapter 8.
Much the same categorization can be made of external stakeholders.
The enterprise message needs to resonate with certain external stakeholders,
who can be thought of as potential allies. Some stakeholder advocacy groups,
for example, will work cooperatively with an RBE to help it better under-
stand the impact of its activities on others, provided they are convinced that
the enterprise is interested in finding mutually satisfactory solutions.5
Other stakeholders are well intentioned but hostile to an enterprise
because they do not understand its purpose or the challenges facing it. An
example is an incident between the advocacy organization Greenpeace and a
unit of Royal Dutch/Shell, involving the disposal of a spent deep-sea oil-
drilling rig, known as Brent Spar. The conflict revolved around which
method of disposal would cause the least environmental damage.
Greenpeace was unwilling to consider any method other than land decom-
missioning. Royal Dutch/Shell had to make the scientific case for its method
of disposal and consider “social, ethical, aesthetic, legal and economic factors
… in addition to the scientific evidence.”6
In the end, Brent Spar was recy-
cled into a ferry terminal,7
but all participants in the dispute lost financially
and had their reputations damaged: Royal Dutch/Shell, Greenpeace, and the
government of the United Kingdom, which had approved deep-sea disposal
of the oil-drilling rig.
Finally, some external stakeholders are hostile to capitalism in general.
Others object to specific business practices of a particular enterprise. In
150 Business Ethics

Islamic countries, for example, producing pork products or alcohol is unac-
ceptable. Some stakeholder groups remain suspicious of Nestlé (the Swiss
food and beverage firm) for marketing infant formula in impoverished coun-
tries that did not have the hygiene capabilities and literacy to use the prod-
uct properly. Other stakeholder groups will never accept tobacco manufac-
turers or defense contractors as responsible businesses. For an enterprise to
engage such stakeholders, an effective communications program must
address their concerns as directly as possible, without sacrificing core beliefs.
For example, the British American Tobacco social responsibility report
describes its social and environmental practices, while acknowledging that
some people will never see a tobacco company as inherently responsible.8
Assess the Needs
Before designing a communications program, owners and managers must
conduct a needs analysis to find out what stakeholders need to know. In gen-
eral, a need to communicate enterprise standards, procedures, and expecta-
tions to employees and agents is clear. It is not likely that most employees or
many stakeholders will read the various business ethics program documents
cover to cover. And even if some stakeholders do, owners and managers will
want to emphasize regularly their commitment to abiding by the program.
Owners and managers need to know much more than the target audi-
ences to design an effective communications program. As depicted in RBE
Worksheet 9, at the end of this chapter, management should use a number
of standard assessment tools such as interviews, focus groups, surveys, doc-
ument review, and direct observation to ask the following questions:9
• What kinds of responsible business conduct issues do employees and
other stakeholders face or are they concerned about?
• What do employees and other stakeholders need to know to be able to
fulfill their roles and responsibilities and have reasonable expectations of
the enterprise?
• How do employees and other stakeholders learn what is expected of
them and what they can expect?
• What communications methods are available to the enterprise to reach
specific stakeholders?
• What are the criteria by which successful communications will be
evaluated?
Using RBE Worksheet 9 in conjunction with other worksheets, such as
RBE Worksheet 2 and RBE Worksheet 4 (see Chapter 4), will help man-
agement determine what needs to be communicated to whom and how. With
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 151

the information obtained, a working group can develop a plan to design a
comprehensive communications program.
Typically, the most important stakeholders to reach will be customers,
employees, and agents. Next in priority may be financial stakeholders, such
as owners and investors, and then, specific stakeholder advocacy groups.
Management needs to conduct this analysis carefully to ensure that its mes-
sage about standards, procedures, and expectations is communicated as
effectively and efficiently as possible. Perhaps most important for long-term
program success is consideration of the criteria that will be used to deter-
mine whether the program is successful. At a minimum, it should be clear to
management that the communications program contributes to achieving the
expected outcomes of the overall program.10
The product of this needs analysis should be a summary report describ-
ing the program situation, target audiences, objectives, program resources
and constraints, and expected outcomes. The next step is to design a com-
munications program by using the summary report.
COMMUNICATING STANDARDS, PROCEDURES, AND EXPECTATIONS
Standards, procedures, and expectations of responsible business conduct
should be communicated through as many means as are likely to be well
received by the target audience. Some means are dictated by law, such as
annual reports to shareholders or environmental impact assessments to gov-
ernment agencies. Others are dictated by custom or practice, such as an
enterprise newsletter or Web site. Some are emerging best practices, such as
the Global Reporting Initiative and AA1000S, a framework for accounting
for organizational performance.11
An important part of any communications program is training, educa-
tion, and development. For the RBE, training must be comprehensive. For
an enterprise to be responsible as a whole, each of its employees and agents
must have the skills, knowledge, understanding, and attitudes necessary to
work together to achieve enterprise goals and objectives.
Promoting the Program through Management Speeches
There is no doubt that when owners and managers speak employees and other
stakeholders listen—at least to some degree. Employees and other stakehold-
ers are also alert to what is not said, as much (or more) than what is said.
Owners and managers need to be particularly alert to the risk of mentioning
enterprise core beliefs or the business ethics program only on special occa-
sions. Employees and agents will note that the enterprise’s purpose, values, and
standards are rarely discussed. For example, one chief executive officer (CEO)
was famous for referring to the business ethics program only once a year. It
152 Business Ethics

escaped few employees that, while he lauded the program on the day set aside
to honor it, he never referred to, or inquired after, it at any other time.
Especially when introducing a business ethics program, managers need
to accept that their message may be greeted skeptically. That is a reason
Chapter 3 urges that the business ethics program be treated with all the seri-
ousness of a strategy.
Distributing Statements, Codes, Standards, Procedures, and Expectations
As stressed in Chapter 5, the documents that establish responsible business
conduct standards, procedures, and expectations are only the start of a busi-
ness ethics program. To the extent employees and other stakeholders were
formally involved in writing the basic documents setting forth guidance and
establishing expectations, the communications process has begun. Indeed,
the mere act of appointing workers as project consultants, described in
Chapter 3, begins communicating how seriously management takes its busi-
ness ethics program.
Distributing copies of the responsible business conduct standards, pro-
cedures, and expectations to each employee and agent, and requiring them
to acknowledge receipt, is a major step. For the newly hired in an enter-
prise, the documents establishing standards, procedures, and expectations
for responsible business conduct should be among the first matters
addressed during orientation. Some enterprises discuss their core beliefs as
early as the recruiting process. One enterprise, Guardsmark, includes a
copy of its code as a part of the employment contract. In the European
Union, where employee contracts are used to set forth employment terms
and conditions, employees often must stipulate compliance with a code for
it to be applicable.12
Some companies distribute wallet-size cards with enterprise core beliefs
and business ethics contact information to all employees. Others put such
information on the back of employee identification cards.
Posting Summaries or Lists of Principles
A cost-effective means of reinforcing the message of responsible business
conduct is to post enterprise core beliefs in lobbies, meeting rooms, and
work spaces, as well as on bulletin boards. When one enterprise was
responding to a responsible business conduct crisis, a manager began each
meeting by reciting the enterprise business principles or core values. Other
enterprises have required that all meetings begin with specific safety briefings,
including designated escape routes, to reinforce the core values of employee
health and safety.
Posting is a means of communicating, but owners, managers, and
supervisors need to make sure the message is actually understood. For
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 153

example, one worker, when asked what “quality” meant, replied, “I don’t
know, but my supervisor told me that if anyone asked, I should point to the
poster on the wall.”
Posting on a Web Site
Increasingly, standards, procedures, and expectations for responsible busi-
ness conduct are posted on the enterprise Web site or intranet. This infor-
mation usually includes the enterprise core beliefs, statement of business
principles, and annual report. Increasingly, Web sites include the entire code
of conduct, contact information for key figures in the business ethics pro-
gram, and information about how to seek advice and report concerns. A few
organizations now post a social responsibility report, which will be discussed
in more detail in Chapter 10.
Publishing Articles and Newsletters
Articles or columns about responsible business conduct can be placed regu-
larly in enterprise publications. In larger enterprises, the business ethics pro-
gram may have its own newsletter. Whatever the medium, articles may
address issues of particular concern to management. These issues include
areas of serious risk, patterns of behavior that cause concern, or opportuni-
ties for enhancing enterprise reputation or adding value that managers want
to be sure employees do not miss.
A particularly sensitive question is how to address incidents that have led
to the disciplining of an employee. There is no better way to demonstrate
management’s commitment to responsible business conduct standards, pro-
cedures, and expectations than to disclose publicly how managers dealt with
a difficult situation—particularly when the matter involved a senior executive.
While recognizing the value in addressing real-life issues and describing
real-life responses, managers must consider the privacy rights of the employ-
ee before publishing details of the incident. It is often possible to describe the
situation and management’s response, including disciplinary action, without
including identifying information. If the enterprise is small enough, or the
event notorious enough, however, the employee’s identity may be clear to all
employees. The same may also be true when an employee is rewarded for
some ethically exemplary decision or action. In many organizational cultures,
individual rewards or rewards for reporting concerns about another member
of the group would degrade the harmony of the group itself.
Making Ethics Brochures Readily Available
Where there are matters of particular concern to management, employees
and agents may be given brochures to address them. Among many others,
topics may include dealing with conflicts of interest, accepting or declining
gifts and gratuities, meeting stakeholder expectations, and seeking advice
154 Business Ethics

and reporting concerns. Such brochures should be placed in racks located in
places where employees congregate. They may stimulate dialogue. The
numbers that are taken from racks are also a rough indicator of issues
employees want to know more about.
CREATING A TRAINING PROGRAM
Making speeches and distributing written materials are necessary elements
of getting the message out, but they are not enough. All employees—from
senior managers to workers—need time on the job to review responsible
business standards, procedures, and expectations; to explore issues of respon-
sible business conduct; to learn how the program structures and systems
work; to understand their roles and responsibilities; and to develop the nec-
essary ethical reasoning and dialogue skills.
Designing a training program requires the same attention to objectives
and outcomes as does the design of the business ethics program as a whole.
It requires attention to the situation, resources available, activities and par-
ticipants, target audiences, outputs, and expected outcomes. Without this
attention to detail, neither the business ethics program nor the communica-
tions program or training program has any criteria for evaluation. In short,
it is not clear to all what success looks like.
Demonstrating Management Commitment
Few decisions symbolize management’s commitment to its business ethics
program more than devoting time, on a regular basis, to training in respon-
sible business conduct. Beyond the skills, knowledge, and understanding
developed through such training, the mere fact that management dedicates
valuable employee time to such training goes a long way toward demon-
strating that it is serious about its standards, procedures, and expectations
becoming part of the organizational culture—instead of just a collection of
policies sitting on a shelf.
Rescheduling busy day-to-day operations to accommodate regular
employee training also conveys an important message from managers and
supervisors to their workers. Where training is treated as an integral part of
the enterprise, employees tend to value it more than where training is treat-
ed as an irritant or necessary evil.
Reinforcing Core Beliefs and Organizational Culture
Training should be designed as an essential link between the enterprise’s core
beliefs, the business ethics program, and the expected program outcomes. As
such, training in responsible business conduct is one of the key activities to
list in the program logic model developed in Chapter 4 (RBE Worksheet 1).
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 155

The training program should reflect the organizational culture of the
enterprise. The enterprise needs to project the expected behavior through the
training program. Training should also contribute to the expected outcomes of
the business ethics program. If an expected program outcome, for example, is
that employees come to recognize issues of responsible business conduct more
readily and talk about them in terms of enterprise core beliefs, standards, and
procedures, then training composed primarily of lectures will not succeed.
Where employees are not used to being asked how they would address impor-
tant issues, let alone raise them, training will need to demonstrate how it is
done—and engage the employees as their comfort level increases.
Designing the Program
Training program objectives depend on relevant context, organizational cul-
ture, goals and objectives, and expected outcomes for the business ethics
program as a whole. Designing the training program begins with the sum-
mary report of the communications needs assessment (RBE Worksheet 9).
The training program should be based on enterprise core beliefs. It must
reflect the pressures of the enterprise’s context and its organizational culture.
Its primary objective is to make a positive contribution toward achieving
expected program outcomes.
At a minimum, training sessions should require employees to become
familiar with applicable laws and regulations, as well as with the enterprise’s
procedures for reporting and investigating concerns about responsible busi-
ness conduct. The training should enhance the ethical awareness of employ-
ees and should uncover ethical issues and concerns that relate to their needs
as well as those of the enterprise. It should include an examination of the cri-
teria for ethical decision-making. See Appendix A for an example of an out-
comes-based decision-making model.
A training program may cover a number of topics for each expected pro-
gram outcome. Using RBE Worksheet 10, found at the back of this chapter,
program designers can ensure that training objectives contribute to achiev-
ing expected outcomes of the business ethics program. Put together a train-
ing program team composed of representative members of the enterprise
and representatives of external stakeholders such as customers.
All participants should leave the training program confident that they
know what the enterprise expects of them and what they can expect from the
enterprise in turn. They should be able to recognize issues of responsible
business conduct and have the confidence—and courage—to make the right
decision, explain that decision to the appropriate people, and act according-
ly. They should understand how the business ethics program relates to
strategic issues for the RBE as a whole.
156 Business Ethics

For a training program to contribute to expected outcomes, it requires a
heavy emphasis on dialogue and decision-making about issues of responsible
business conduct. Beyond developing listening and feedback skills and good
judgment in enterprise members, the training program must convey man-
agement’s sincere desire to know whether its standards and procedures are
being followed and whether its stakeholder expectations are being met. The
program must also convey management’s commitment to support employees
and other stakeholders who seek advice and report concerns. This task
requires not only encouraging individuals who are inclined to come forward
but also explaining to those who do not why their silence is detrimental to
enterprise performance.
A typical expected outcome is that employees and agents will use good
judgment in addressing issues of responsible business conduct. For the RBE,
ethical decision-making is a form of action learning.13
It is a tool that employ-
ees and agents use to learn how to pursue the purpose of the enterprise and
meet the reasonable expectations of stakeholders. At a minimum, manage-
ment might provide a decision-making process that, in a specific incident,
enables its employees and agents
• To define the issues of ethics, compliance, and responsibility
• To demonstrate a grasp of all relevant and material facts, including the
stakeholders involved and their interests
• To point to the applicable standards, procedures, and expectations,
including decrees, laws, and regulations
• To describe the range of options available
• To explain why, based on these considerations, they made a particular
choice or acted in a particular manner
Many ethics and policy decision-making models are available on the
Internet. They range from simple, five-step models to multiphase frame-
works that include decision criteria.14
The better models are based on well-
developed skills in critical thinking. Trainers can introduce the process
through lecture and then break the participants into small groups to apply it
in a case study. See Appendix A for an approach to ethical decision-making
that reflects the approach recommended by this manual.
A long-term expected program outcome should be an organizational
culture in which owners and managers have the information they need to
make intelligent decisions for the enterprise. To achieve this, employees
must leave training believing that they will not be punished for bringing bad
news to management.
Participants must also leave training firmly convinced that, should they
make a mistake, they will not be punished if they can demonstrate that they
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 157

followed the enterprise decision-making process. Employees or agents should
not be punished for making a mistake if they can demonstrate that they
• Recognized the issue
• Had a reasonable grasp of the relevant facts
• Considered enterprise standards, procedures, and expectations
• Explored the range of options available
• Could justify the choice they made or action they took
DELIVERING THE TRAINING PROGRAM
A number of principles characterize effective training programs on respon-
sible business conduct. First, a program should project the core beliefs of the
enterprise—not just teach them. Second, owners and managers should be
involved in the training in significant, visible ways. Third, the program
should recognize the personal values of individual stakeholders but not rely
on them. Fourth, the program should be comprehensive, not limited to spe-
cific training in responsible business conduct. Finally, it should include
action planning and follow-up to reinforce the lessons learned.
Reflecting Core Beliefs
Where expected program objectives include issue recognition, dialogue,
and ethical decision-making, the training program should develop those
skills and provide the knowledge necessary to apply them. For adults, who
tend to learn best while doing, the best training method is often a balance
158 Business Ethics
Projecting Core Beliefs by Telling Stories
The business ethics officer of one large, complex enterprise tells the story
at training about how a regional manager let a large shipment sit on a pier
for weeks rather than pay a bribe—with the full support of the enterprise.
Another business ethics officer describes how managers must travel to
corporate headquarters when an accident occurs and an employee is seri-
ously hurt.The manager must be able to describe what happened, why it
happened, and what he or she did to make sure it will not happen again.
PRACTICENOTE

of lectures—to introduce or review standards, procedures, and expecta-
tions—and facilitated case studies.
In developing those skills and passing on this knowledge, the program
needs to project the core beliefs of the enterprise and the expected program
outcomes. Abstract standards, procedures, and expectations take on meaning
for employees when relayed in terms of the enterprise’s core beliefs. It is one
thing to discuss rules governing bribery and corruption because they are in
the code of conduct. It is another thing to tell stories about how those rules
are applied in practice.
Involving Owners and Managers
Because all training must reflect the relevant context and organizational cul-
ture of the enterprise, the precise way to involve owners and managers can-
not be specified. A key requirement is that stakeholders, especially employ-
ees, believe that management fully supports the training.
Management involvement takes many forms. Some enterprises use
cascade training, in which the CEO trains his or her direct subordinates.
They, in turn, train those who report to them and so on down the chain of
management until supervisors train their workers. This method has the
advantage of actively involving managers, which tends to demonstrate
commitment. A disadvantage may be that the presence of managers may
stifle active involvement of the employees when candid discussion of issues
is in order or when the culture of the enterprise is to remain silent on
important issues.
Another option is a video of the CEO introducing the training by declar-
ing his or her personal commitment to the training program. Owners and
managers may also visit the training, observe it, or be available to answer ques-
tions as they arise during the course of the program. In any event, employees
are unlikely to value training that management does not appear to support.
Recognizing Personal Values
One of the controversies surrounding training in responsible business con-
duct is whether one can—or should—teach ethics to adults. It is unlikely that
ethics training will change the outlook of most employees. Personal values
are usually set in youth—families, schools, churches, and peers subtly guide
children as they grow to adulthood. But the purpose of business ethics train-
ing is not so much to change adults as it is to support them, admonish them,
or reinforce their understanding of management’s commitment to enforcing
its standards, procedures, and expectations.
Trainers can be confident that what adults bring with them to the enter-
prise does not include knowledge of enterprise standards, procedures, and
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 159

expectations. Moreover, it is unlikely that most employees—including owners
and managers—are skilled at making the best choice among options where
the problem involves complex pressures arising from the relevant context.
For some employees and agents, no amount of training is going to change
them. Such cases are less a matter of training than of having the right people
performing the right tasks, which is addressed in Chapter 8.
For the training to be effective, it must appeal to what motivates the par-
ticipants. The ideal situation permits an appeal to a participant’s sense of
community. Where participants feel that they share a purpose, values, and a
vision of a desired future, trainers may stress responsibilities to stakeholders.
But more often, participants respond to a sense of urgency. This sense can
be created by recounting stories about what happened when employees and
agents violated standards—and the impact on both the enterprise and the
individuals involved.
One cost-effective way of creating a sense of urgency is to develop a
“parade of horribles” by collecting headlines of powerful enterprises and
individuals who have been prosecuted or held liable for misconduct. “The
Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall,” said the headline of one recent
working paper, which estimated that “the loss of confidence following the
collapse of Enron and WorldCom will cost the U.S. economy $37 billion
to $42 billion” in reduced gross domestic product.15
Since these two enter-
prises, Enron and WorldCom, were accused of major accounting fraud,
their stock values have dropped to a fraction of their former values, and
senior executives have been indicted. Few responsible business conduct
trainers now miss an opportunity to refer to Enron to demonstrate what
can happen if managers act irresponsibly—what has come to be known as
the “Enron Effect.”
Making Training Comprehensive
Training should take place at all levels of the enterprise. From senior man-
agers and owners to workers on the shop floor, every employee and agent
should receive training in responsible business conduct specific to his or her
level of responsibility. All employees and agents should review enterprise
core beliefs, standards, procedures, and expectations, including policies
relating to their individual responsibilities.
Managers and supervisors need additional training to reflect their roles
and responsibilities as integral parts of the business ethics program. They
may need to gain understanding of the issues that affect their performance
such as conflicts of interest, anticorruption measures, or emerging global
standards. In particular, they must understand that enterprise standards, pro-
cedures, and expectations are never to be violated to meet individual and
enterprise performance objectives. They must fully appreciate their roles
160 Business Ethics

Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 161
and responsibilities in nurturing an organizational culture in which employ-
ees and agents can seek advice and report concerns so that management has
the information it needs to guide the enterprise. Finally, they must learn not
to fear evaluation of their units’ performance, if the enterprise is to learn
from experience.
Agents, including consultants, sales agents, brokers, partners, franchisees,
and closely allied suppliers and service providers, should be exposed to the
enterprise core beliefs; applicable standards, procedures, and expectations;
and specific policies relating to their roles and responsibilities.
Training should address pursuing the enterprise’s purpose and meeting
stakeholder expectations. A training program begins with basic employee
recruiting materials and procedures, and never truly ends. Though the
emphasis of a business ethics program is on issues of ethics, compliance, and
social responsibility, this focus is primarily on reinforcing an enterprise-wide
sense of responsibility to the enterprise and its stakeholders in pursuit of the
enterprise’s purpose.
For example, concerns such as customer service, quality management,
fair dealing with suppliers and service providers, environmental protection,
proper relationships with government officials, and individual responsibility
for developing a healthy workplace require attention to issues far beyond
business ethics. Nevertheless, such issues have substantial elements of
responsible business conduct. Although basic training in workplace skills is
not specifically training in responsible business conduct, ensuring that
employees and agents have the requisite skills, knowledge, understanding,
and attitudes to pursue the enterprise’s purpose and meet reasonable stake-
holder expectations is responsible business conduct. Preaching a core value
of customer service when employees know they do not have the ability to
provide it will build, at best, frustration and cynicism.
In short, the training program should ensure that training in responsi-
ble business conduct begins with the earliest opportunity to orient the newly
hired or retained and continues to transfer to the workplace as long as the
employee remains a stakeholder.
Incorporating Action Planning and Action Learning
One way to make training meaningful is to have participants, individually or
as members of a team, develop an action plan for the next three to six
months based on what they learned. For senior employees, this action plan
may reflect an assessment that some aspects of an enterprise’s business ethics
program require more support in practice. An example might be recognition
that more training is required during the ensuing months on the issue of
gifts and gratuities. Another might be a need to develop a division policy on
wastewater disposal.

Copies of these action plans should be retained by the business ethics
officer or another appropriate officer. Follow-up questionnaires requesting
progress reports should be sent regularly. Tracking progress on action plans
can give indirect feedback or function as a performance evaluation item. It
also has the effect of reinforcing perceptions of management’s commitment.
An important way to demonstrate management commitment is to include
participation in the training and action planning as express elements of per-
formance evaluation.
USING THE MODES OF TRAINING
The training program should use all modes appropriate to the organiza-
tional culture and stakeholder needs. In general, training should be as inter-
active, realistic, and relevant to day-to-day jobs as possible. In a recent
study, one researcher found that European “training objectives typically
include illumination of the company’s and individual’s values while in the
United States the emphasis is on increasing knowledge of company stan-
dards and/or the law.”16
The level of difficulty should challenge but not
overwhelm participants.
Some modes of training that enterprises may consider include:
• Lectures and presentations. The classic method that adults are famil-
iar with from their school days, lectures are the most effective way to
reach a number of people with fairly straightforward information. In the
initial rollout of a code, for example, lectures may be the most effective
mode of explaining where the code fits into business performance. This
mode is also an effective way to describe other resources and ways to
access them. If an objective of the training program is to develop dia-
logue and decision-making skills, it is doubtful that lectures will be effec-
tive. Indeed, this mode may be counterproductive if it reinforces an
organizational culture in which employees do what they are told and
avoid the risks of making decisions.
• Case studies and scenarios. After participants understand the purpose
of the training and the resources available, issues of responsible business
conduct can be effectively introduced through the study and analysis of
cases that have actually occurred to the enterprise or to other similarly
situated enterprises. Trainers might also develop their own scenarios to
raise a number of issues. Case studies and scenarios help develop dia-
logue and decision-making skills. Case studies take more time to pass on
information than do lectures. But analyzing a situation to isolate an
issue, to develop the realistic options available, and to justify a decision
to others in a relatively risk-free environment is invaluable. This mode
162 Business Ethics

also develops the important skills and attitudes of listening and of giving
and receiving feedback.
• Ethics games. Many larger enterprises, including Citigroup, Lockheed
Martin, and Boeing, have developed games to raise awareness of issues
of ethics, compliance, and social responsibility; to develop good reason-
ing skills and judgment; to stimulate dialogue; and to demonstrate man-
agement commitment.17
In general, the games involve dividing employ-
ees into small teams and placing before them a situation that raises a dis-
crete issue of ethics, compliance, or social responsibility. The teams are
given a few minutes to reach a consensus choice among the four or five
alternative responses available to them. Teams are then asked to justify
their choice. These games usually stimulate heated discussion. Each
answer has a predetermined value in points. A particularly valuable ele-
ment is that members of senior management sit as an “appeals board” in
the event a team disputes the correctness of the answers or their prede-
termined point values. Participants are then able to observe how senior
managers make and justify their decisions.
• Other modes. Many companies are now offering quite sophisticated
Web-based training.18
This mode may be relatively cost-effective. Videos
and self-paced studies may be purchased off the shelf and may expose par-
ticipants to the basics. These products, while useful, lack the familiarity
that customized materials would offer. Yet, such materials do tend to rein-
force the notion that the enterprise is engaging in an emerging global
effort, and thus they might add some sense of importance to the training.
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 163
Sample Case Study
Ned’s manager,Will, has asked him to bill the general project he is working
on to an indirect work account. Ned questions if this goes against the com-
pany’s charging policy, but Will assures him that he has the authority to
approve this approach. Ned does as he is told, but he remains concerned.
Your challenge is to select three building blocks [company values] that
will help Ned resolve his concerns with Will.
Lockheed Martin Corporation
“The Twelve Building Blocks of Trust”
PRACTICENOTE

UPDATING AND MODIFYING THE TRAINING PROGRAM
The training program should be modified over time to ensure that its con-
tent contributes to pursuit of the enterprise’s purpose and helps meet rea-
sonable stakeholder expectations. Also, it should be reviewed to ensure that
the delivery methods are the most effective available. As the relevant context
of an enterprise, its organizational culture, and its stakeholders’ expectations
change over time, the training program must adapt as well. This effort
requires considering feedback from the training program.
Training provides useful feedback to managers on the ways in which the
business ethics program is being received. It helps uncover sensitive areas
such as insufficient guidance for employees or unreasonable stakeholder
expectations, legal issues, unfair treatment of employees, and difficult work-
ing conditions. Feedback might reveal that trainers focus on issues that do
not reflect the real-life concerns of the participants. It might also show that
the sessions need more trainer–trainee interaction or that the materials are
dull and do not encourage interaction. If feedback shows that participants
need a better understanding of complicated issues, such as conflicts of inter-
est, there may be specific real examples or case studies from the enterprise’s
experience that could address these concerns.
There are several methods for collecting feedback from training pro-
grams. Traditionally, training administrators ask trainees to fill out an evalu-
ation form asking whether they found the training useful and what, if any-
thing, they learned. At the end of the training, administrators should ask par-
ticipants questions such as:
164 Business Ethics
Training Idea
An enterprise might develop a case study around a particularly challeng-
ing business ethics issue, such as accurate recordkeeping or acceptance of
gifts and gratuities, and train supervisors to conduct short weekly
meetings to discuss the case.
A supervisor could capture the dialogue and report it to the business
ethics office, which could then compile summaries of what the enterprise
believes about the topic and report them back to the staff members.
PRACTICENOTE

• How would you rate the overall effectiveness of the training?
• Were the materials helpful and relevant?
• Were the right issues discussed?
• What other topics would you like to discuss in the next training session?
Training administrators might also ask participants to take quizzes before,
during, and after the training to determine what they learned.
The action-planning process described earlier is probably the most valu-
able, though time-consuming, process of collecting feedback because it
tracks whether training actually transferred to the workplace.
MANAGING TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
Owners and managers demonstrate their commitment to the business ethics
program by managing the training program well. Good management requires
that adequate time be allocated to training, that training records be well
maintained, and that training participation be an element of performance
evaluation.
Generally, three to four hours of training per employee, at a minimum,
is required to roll out a new business ethics program. Thereafter, annual
training of from one to three hours is the norm. In the United States, it is
common for all employees and agents to be required to attend the training.
In Europe, training tends to be more targeted and to take place at higher
management levels.19
Whatever the target audience, no training exceptions
can be granted without bringing management’s commitment into question.
Additional training should be provided for people in sensitive positions, such
as government contracting, sales and marketing, and human resources.
Good records management requires that training administrators record
participation in training; participant feedback; action planning follow-
through; and issues of ethics, compliance, and responsibility identified during
the training.
Ensuring Members Follow Standards and Meet Expectations
IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK
Few stakeholders of an enterprise would disagree with the proposition that
owners and managers have legitimate needs for information about compliance
with its standards, procedures, and expectations. They need this information to
guide employees and agents and to foster reasonable stakeholder expectations.
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 165

The abiding issue for a business ethics program is how to garner this
information through processes that are consistent with the enterprise’s core
beliefs. The ideal form is free-flowing communication between owners and
managers, employees and agents, and other stakeholders about all the matters
needed for the enterprise to meet the reasonable expectations of its stakehold-
ers effectively and efficiently. Often, however, either mechanisms to accom-
modate free-flowing communication are not readily available or there is not
enough trust between stakeholders for such communication to take place.
Under such circumstances, owners and managers must design and implement
other control mechanisms. This section describes the issues, policies, and
processes of maintaining internal control and engaging external stakeholders.
In general, owners and managers use five methods to track what is going
on in the enterprise:
1. Monitoring ongoing operations
2. Auditing books, records, and process documentation
3. Responding to employees and agents seeking advice and reporting con-
cerns
4. Investigating incidents and reports
5. Engaging stakeholders
All these methods require infrastructure. Management needs to design a
monitoring, auditing, and investigation framework that is consistent with the
management alignment processes described in Chapter 8. Engaging external
stakeholders is not as well defined as the other methods, but enterprises have
found a few techniques, such as stakeholder surveys, to be valuable. RBE
Worksheet 11, at the end of this chapter, is also a useful tool for ensuring an
effective infrastructure is in place.
MONITORING
Monitoring enterprise performance is an essential management task. An
RBE plans its work by assigning individual and group responsibility. It sets
performance expectations for individuals and groups to guide their efforts
toward achieving the enterprise’s goals and objectives. Employees and agents
are held accountable as individuals and groups for achieving assigned objec-
tives while following the enterprise’s standards, procedures, and expecta-
tions. Whether set for individuals or for groups, performance expectations
must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-specific.
In an RBE, processes and projects may be monitored continually. Good
monitoring requires consistently measuring performance and providing
ongoing feedback to employees and agents as to how well their performance
166 Business Ethics

complies with enterprise standards and procedures and meets stakeholder
expectations. Continual monitoring enables unacceptable performance to be
identified before it fails to meet stakeholder expectations.
The best operational example is the total quality management process,
whereby individuals and teams set performance standards, continually col-
lect data, and use quality tools to measure performance and analyze the data
to resolve problems and improve processes.
Issues of responsible business conduct may be approached in a similar
manner. Where risks have been identified, such as conflicts of interest,
fraudulent consumer transactions, inaccurate books and records or expense
accounting, or bribes and corruption, an RBE establishes structures and sys-
tems to monitor performance on a regular basis. It does not wait for reports
of misconduct. It requires regular reports, examines accounts and records,
and tracks patterns and trends as good management practice. Other forms of
monitoring are performance evaluations and exit interviews.
AUDITING
Whereas monitoring is an aspect of good management practice for all man-
agers and supervisors, auditing is a more formal process. It is a review of
employee or agent performance by an independent agent. This independent
agent may be either internal or external to the enterprise, but it is not a part
of the enterprise’s operational management.
Internal audit serves as the primary means by which owners and man-
agers review and evaluate the enterprise’s internal control structure.
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 167
Monitoring Suppliers
Although suppliers and service providers do not carry the same compli-
ance exposure as employees and agents, behavior that can be linked to
another enterprise may severely increase its business risks. Owners and
managers should take care to exercise due diligence in selecting, monitor-
ing, and auditing their suppliers and service providers.
Lyuba Zarsky
“Beyond Good Deeds”
PRACTICENOTE

Although this charter is very broad, in practice the traditional focus had
been on financial data. External auditors perform formal audits of financial
statements to meet the needs of external stakeholders: investors, creditors,
and regulators.
More recently, the traditional focus has expanded to include reviewing
the systems established to ensure compliance with an enterprise’s standards,
procedures, and expectations. Operational audits are often performed by
internal auditors, to determine whether the enterprise complies with its
standards and procedures. They may be done on a regular basis or in
response to specific reports or concerns.
EMPLOYEES SEEKING ADVICE AND REPORTING CONCERNS
Among the surest sources of information about what is going on in an enter-
prise—especially behavior that violates enterprise core beliefs, standards,
procedures, and expectations—are employees and agents. Most employees
and agents recognize management’s legitimate need for such information, if
the enterprise is to meet the reasonable expectations of its stakeholders.
Nonetheless, standards, procedures, and expectations that encourage
employees and agents to seek advice and report concerns can raise issues of
conflicting loyalties to the enterprise and to peers, and, in many emerging
market economies, may raise historical memories of betrayal.
Reporting concerns about the business conduct of co-workers is hard for
most employees. Indeed, research suggests that substantial numbers of
employees, even in developed economies, are extremely reluctant to report
their concerns.20
Many put loyalty to friends and colleagues above loyalty to
the enterprise. Many do not trust that managers—or their peers—will not
retaliate against them if they report their concerns.
168 Business Ethics
Anticorruption Provision
Enterprises monitor and audit their accounts for inaccuracies and for
ambiguous or deceptive bookkeeping entries that may disguise bribery.
PRACTICENOTE

As two authors have observed:
Both the law and popular opinion have always been
ambivalent about whistleblowers, whether in the elemen-
tary school yard, universities, the military or other gov-
ernment agency, or in private life. Are they malcontents,
troublemakers, and snitches? Or are they brave, ethical
individuals who, unlike their fellow beings, coworkers, or
superiors, want their company to act legally and ethically
as well?21
A business ethics program helps employees and agents understand why
it is important that they communicate their concerns to management, how
they should report their concerns, and why it is safe to do so.
Under a business ethics program, employees and agents are more sensi-
tive to the types of behavior that constitute misconduct or illegality. They
are more likely to view reporting misconduct as one of their obligations to
the enterprise, their fellow employees, and enterprise stakeholders. As recent
research displayed in Figure 7.1 demonstrates, if enterprises have in place at
least four elements of a business ethics program, 78 percent of employees are
willing to report misconduct. Only 52 percent are willing to do so where
only written standards are in place, and only 39 percent where none of the
four elements were present.22
(The four elements were written standards of
business conduct, training on standards of conduct, an ethics office or tele-
phone advice line, and a means to report misconduct anonymously.)
In an organizational culture that encourages dialogue, questions, and
delivery of bad news, employees find it easier to confront issues of responsi-
ble business conduct, to seek advice and report concerns, and to make ethical
decisions. In many enterprises, however, employees are uncomfortable with
coming forward, especially to report their concerns involving other employ-
ees. Owners and managers need to make the case for coming forward in terms
that resonate with their employees. For example, a manager in a Far Eastern
cultural context explained why employees should report their concerns about
business conduct by analogy, pointing to how employees would take action to
protect their families if there was broken glass in their homes.23
Reporting Violations
Ideally, owners, managers, and supervisors maintain an open-door policy for
employees and agents who have concerns that involve responsible business
conduct. Often, however, employees and agents are reluctant to bring “bad
news” to managers and supervisors. To encourage them to come forward, an
enterprise should establish discreet procedures for employees to seek advice
and report concerns.
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 169

Suggestion boxes, help-lines, and whistle-blowing protection all facili-
tate reporting of questionable conduct. Reports may also be received from
individuals who come to the business ethics office and register a concern.
The identity of reporters should be kept confidential (to the extent that the
law provides), and sources should not be held liable, discriminated against,
or harassed for reporting their concerns.
Once the business ethics officer receives a report, it is important that the
enterprise follow through. The officer should
• Record the reported concern
• Evaluate the concern and develop an action plan for dealing with it
• Initiate or coordinate an investigation or inquiry, if appropriate
• Take appropriate action on findings and conclusions
• Track reported concerns for patterns and trends
• Make recommendations based on lessons learned
Critical to the success of the business ethics program is feedback to the
reporting source of the steps taken to investigate the matter, what was found,
and what corrective steps—if any—were or will be taken. In many surveys of
employee attitudes, when reasons are given for why an employee observing
170 Business Ethics
FIGURE 7.1
Variations in Employee
Willingness to Report
Misconduct

misconduct did not report it, second only to fear of retaliation is the sense
that management would not do anything with the information anyway.24
Protecting Employees and Agents from Retribution
All reporting procedures should be designed to leave reporters free from fear
of retribution. Managers, supervisors, and other employees should under-
stand that direct or indirect retribution for voicing a concern or complaint is
not to be tolerated. Retribution by either managers or peers discourages oth-
ers from reporting their concerns. An RBE, therefore, should have a strict
policy that discipline will be imposed for any instance of retribution.
Occasionally, an employee or other agent reporting concerns may make
a mistake or abuse the reporting process and cause an investigation that does
not lead to further action. Behavior that abuses the reporting process will
often violate enterprise core beliefs; however, managers should counsel, but
not punish, such a reporter. Maintaining absolute certainty among employ-
ees and agents that they can report concerns without fear of retribution is so
important that managers should not risk losing that confidence by punishing
anyone who used a reporting process. If the enterprise reserves the right to
punish those who abuse the process, the published standards, procedures,
and expectations will have to leave that possibility open. Where trust in man-
agement is not the norm, reporting sources may be uncertain about just how
safely they can make reports.
Moreover, it is difficult, at best, to prove that a reported concern was an
abuse of the process. Even if a case can be made, it may raise significant
questions in the minds of potential sources about just how safe the process
is. In Box 7.1, the last sentence may be seized on by employees as a reason
not to report their concerns unless they are certain of all the facts. In short,
for all the satisfaction owners and managers may retain in being able to
punish someone who abuses the process, the cost in terms of employee con-
fidence in the reporting process is too high to pay.
Although the individual should not be punished to preserve confidence
in the business ethics program, other steps can be taken to limit harm to
other individuals or to the enterprise. The abusing person or the victim may
be reassigned, for example.
Using a Help-Line
A help-line is a dedicated telephone line that gives employees and agents
direct access to the business ethics officer. It should be free of charge to the
caller. The number should be widely distributed; everyone should have
access to the number. If the enterprise uses an answering machine for the
number after normal business hours, the machine should be placed in a pri-
vate, secure location.
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 171

A help-line may be operated by a commercial service with instructions
from the enterprise. Typically, under such a service, a source may call
anonymously to report concerns. If the source is willing to be contacted for
more information but wishes to maintain his or her anonymity, he or she
will be given an identification number and will be told to call back at a par-
ticular time.
Maintaining Confidentiality and Security
It is difficult for an employee or agent to choose fidelity to enterprise stan-
dards, procedures, and expectations over loyalty to his or her friends or col-
leagues. When an employee or agent decides to report concerns, he or she
must believe that it is the right thing to do. Managers owe reporting employ-
ees and agents as much security as possible when they report their concerns.25
An emerging best practice is to establish a policy authorizing certain
business ethics personnel to promise reporting employees and agents that
their identities and information will remain confidential. Whether they can
make a promise of confidentiality that courts of law will respect, known as a
privileged communication, depends on the laws of the jurisdiction. Managers
must consider that if they promise confidentiality to a reporting source but
are then required to disclose the source’s identity, others may not come for-
ward to report their concerns.26
Distinguishing between Ethics and Personnel Issues
Experience with help-lines demonstrates that more than half of all calls will
be about personnel matters. Owners and managers will be tempted to
require that such callers be directed to call human resources. They should
resist this temptation for two reasons. First, in the minds of employees, when
managers speak of ethics, they are talking about fairness, so employees see
personnel matters as ethics issues. Second, when management rejects a call
to the help-line for whatever reason it risks the reputation of the help-line as
172 Business Ethics
Taking action to prevent problems is part of the Motorola
culture. If you observe possible unethical or illegal conduct, you
are encouraged to report your concerns.
Retaliation against any employee who honestly reports a
concern to Motorola about illegal or unethical conduct will not
be tolerated. It is unacceptable to file a report knowing it to
be false.
B O X 7 . 1
REPORTING CONCERNS
Motorola Corporation
“Code of Business Conduct”

an effective and safe way for employees and agents to seek advice or report
concerns. Other employees will only hear that a fellow employee made a call
to the help-line and was rejected, but not learn management’s reasons why,
however valid.
In establishing reporting guidelines, however, management must distin-
guish between matters of responsible business conduct and grievances of
union-represented employees. A grievance issue arises when there is a dif-
ference in interpretation or implementation of a collective bargaining agree-
ment or an individual labor contract. A department other than the business
ethics officer will typically address grievances.
THE ORGANIZATIONAL OMBUDSMAN
In a number of large, complex enterprises (LCEs), a specific office, called the
ombudsman, has been established to advise employees and agents of their
rights and duties regarding responsible conduct. In the business enterprise
context, the ombudsman is a separate means by which employees and agents
can seek advice and report their concerns.27
The ombudsman was originally a Scandinavian office created to investi-
gate citizen complaints against governments or otherwise trusted to look after
the affairs of others. Today, the position of an organizational ombudsman in
a business ethics program has evolved to be an independent, neutral, and
alternative office where employees and agents can go to seek advice and
report concerns. Independent means the ombudsman is not a part of day-to-
day staff or operations management. Neutral means it does not function as an
advocate for the enterprise or individual. Alternative means the ombudsman
does not duplicate any other enterprise function, such as investigations. With
few exceptions, the ombudsman is authorized to refer reports of misconduct
for investigation only with the express consent of the reporting source.
In some jurisdictions, enterprises can claim that the ombudsman can
make an enforceable promise of confidentiality. The enterprise will not be
deemed to have notice of the concern until the source registers his or her
concerns with the enterprise or authorizes the ombudsman to do so.
However, as managers review standards, procedures, and expectations, an
ombudsman may contribute what he or she has learned about employee con-
cerns, provided that he or she does not compromise the anonymity and con-
fidentiality of the sources.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR INVESTIGATIONS
It is critical to the success of a business ethics program that reported con-
cerns be investigated. Managers may learn of concerns suggesting that a
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 173

violation of standards, procedures, and expectations has occurred from a
variety of sources, including the help-line. Once on notice, an RBE must
take all reasonable steps to determine what happened and how the problem
might be avoided in the future.
In developing an investigative plan, managers need to consider the laws
of the jurisdiction in which they operate. These laws will affect who conducts
the investigation and what rights are afforded to the subjects of the investi-
gation. Investigations should always be conducted with a view to possible
government prosecution or civil litigation.
Investigations will typically involve document review and witness inter-
views. Employees should be instructed to cooperate fully with the investiga-
tion, including preserving all relevant documents and materials. The inves-
tigator must be alert to avoiding the appearance of influencing witnesses or
appearing to speak for the enterprise or another witness. A typical procedure
is shown in Box 7.2.
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Increasingly, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) hold enterprises
accountable for unethical behavior and demand best practices. International
institutions are developing policies requiring greater transparency and
174 Business Ethics
A typical investigative procedure works as follows:
• A call is made to the business ethics officer to report
misconduct.
• The business ethics officer registers the report.
• The business ethics officer creates a plan for resolving
the matter.
• The plan includes analyzing facts, developing assignments,
conducting interviews, and disclosing information to select
individuals.
• If the business ethics officer requires additional help from
special departments, he or she coordinates other resources,
such as legal, internal audit, human resources, or security.
• The business ethics officer devises a written schedule for
completing the investigation and standards for the disclosure
of information.
• The business ethics officer remains in close contact with
individuals involved in the investigation and periodically
requests information and details on proceedings.
• At the conclusion of the investigation, the business ethics
officer presents a summation of the findings to the
enterprise’s managers and the board of directors.
• Owners or senior managers decide what corrective action
should be taken, including whether the matter should be
voluntarily disclosed to a government agency or other
stakeholders.
B O X 7 . 2
INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURES

encouraging official investigations of misconduct. Local communities are less
willing to host an enterprise known for corrupt or irresponsible practices.
These trends provide owners and managers with the incentive and
opportunity to secure feedback from external stakeholders. Feedback mech-
anisms include media reviews, stakeholder satisfaction surveys, conferences,
and discussion groups. The focus of such efforts should be to ascertain how
well the enterprise is fostering and meeting stakeholder expectations. Also
important is public perception about how responsible the enterprise is or
how consistent its business practices are with its core beliefs.
Anita Roddick, founder and CEO of The Body Shop, described an inte-
grated process recently:
So how can loyalty be built and maintained by British
business and what, if any, is the role of government in
assisting this process? I believe the key to loyalty is trust,
and trust flows from a high level of commitment to trans-
parency and a genuine desire to engage on a human level.
In The Body Shop this means putting a lot of effort into
assessing the quality of relationships with stakeholders,
through systematic dialogue involving opinion surveys
and focus groups. It also means active, audited disclosure
of social and environmental performance so that everyone
involved with the business can judge progress (or lack of
it) for themselves. It means being open about our compa-
ny values, campaigning on issues such as human rights
and animal welfare—issues we know our customers and
employees care about. Make no mistake, this is not done
simply for the fun of it. It works for us because it is gen-
uine, but it also helps us run a better and a more success-
ful company, with very loyal employees and customers.28
Meetings with external stakeholders are an effective way to secure feed-
back. An RBE can sponsor such meetings to demonstrate its initiative and
interest. An owner or senior manager should lead the meetings. Local com-
munity, government, and NGO representatives may be invited. Questions,
comments, and suggestions should be encouraged.
Monitoring media coverage of business is an essential means of securing
feedback from the public and making appropriate adjustments to the busi-
ness ethics program. In recent years, the media have become better informed
about how to measure whether leaders of an enterprise are committed to
responsible business conduct. Through the media, a business can capture the
perceptions of the public regarding its expectations of business and its role
in the community.
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 175

Finally, as discussed in Chapter 10, an RBE engages its stakeholders by
monitoring, tracking, and reporting its performance in areas of concern to
its stakeholders, especially civil society. The reaction of civil society and the
media to the enterprise’s social responsibility reports is valuable information
and invites further dialogue.
SUMMARY
It is vital to the welfare of the enterprise and its ability to meet the reason-
able expectations of its stakeholders that owners and managers know
whether enterprise standards and procedures are being followed and
whether reasonable stakeholder expectations are being met. The source of
this information, in all cases, is the stakeholders of the enterprise: employ-
ees, agents, customers, suppliers, and regulators, to name but a few.
Owners and managers of an RBE should develop a plan to communicate
with stakeholders the enterprise’s standards, procedures, and expectations.
They can do so by answering two fundamental questions:
1. How can we most effectively communicate our standards and proce-
dures and foster reasonable expectations among our stakeholders?
2. How can we know that our members follow our standards and reason-
able stakeholder expectations are met?
To communicate enterprise standards, procedures, and expectations, own-
ers and managers use all manner of vehicles: formal and informal communica-
tions; training, education, and development; and stakeholder engagement.
176 Business Ethics
Gaining Public Feedback
Establishing formal mechanisms to monitor public feedback may be diffi-
cult because of lack of resources. Informal meetings with NGOs and
other enterprises in the industry may be cost-effective alternatives for
assessing public concerns.
PRACTICENOTE

To ensure that management knows what is going on in the enterprise,
owners and managers establish various mechanisms, as appropriate to the
relevant context and organizational culture: monitoring, auditing, reporting,
and stakeholder surveys.
Chapter 7: Communications and Feedback 177
RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
Checklist
1 Who in our enterprise has responsibility for ensuring that the core
beliefs of the enterprise are documented and disseminated to
employees, agents, and other stakeholders?
2. How do our owners and managers communicate enterprise stan-
dards, procedures, and expectations to our employees, agents, and
other stakeholders?
3. Can owners and managers reasonably expect employees and agents
to report observed misconduct? If not, why not? If not, what other
mechanisms are in place, or should be in place, so that owners and
managers know what is going on in the organization?

Communications Needs Assessment Worksheet
RBE W O R K S H E E T
9
Focus
Groups Surveys
Document
Review
Direct
Observation
What kinds of
responsible business
conduct issues do
employees and other
stakeholders face or are
they concerned about?
What do employees and
other stakeholders need
to know to be able to
fulfill their roles and
responsibilities and have
reasonable expectations
of the enterprise?
How do employees and
other stakeholders learn
what is expected of them
and what they can
expect?
What communications
methods are available to
the enterprise to reach
specific stakeholders?
What are the criteria by
which successful
communications will be
evaluated?
RBE Worksheet 9, which can be photocopied for use with your organization, assists owners and managers in conducting a
needs analysis to find out what stakeholders need to know. Use the standard assessment tools (interviews, focus groups,
surveys, document review, and direct observation) to answer the questions listed.
Interviews
178

179
Training Program Outcomes Worksheet
RBE W O R K S H E E T
10
GeneralTrainingTopics
Performance
Measures SpecificTopics
Training
Objectives
Amount of observed
violation of
enterprise standards,
including legal
requirements
• Enterprise core beliefs
• Risks to the enterprise when
standards are violated
• Personal and organizational
responsibility and accountability
• Difference between personal
morality and enterprise
standards
• Policy on rewarding responsible
behavior and punishing
irresponsible behavior
• Enterprise expectations for
employee behavior
• Stakeholder expectations
• Enterprise standards and policies
• Recognition of ethics, compliance,
and responsibility issues
• Ethics and policy theory
• Dimensions of culture
• Value of diversity
• Listening and giving feedback
• Ethics, compliance, and
responsible decision-making
• Strategic planning based on
core beliefs
• Individual responsibility to
seek advice
• Communication channels
Using RBE Worksheet 10, training program designers can work from expected outcomes of the business ethics program
through general and specific training topics to formulate specific training program objectives. In filling out RBE Worksheet 10,
which may be photocopied for use within your organization, treat each cell opposite a program outcome separately.
How often
employees and
agents make
decisions in terms
of core beliefs and
standards
How willing
employees and
agents are to
seek advice on
standards
Awareness
of issues
of responsible
business conduct
at work
How often
employees and
agents speak in
terms of core
beliefs and
standards
continued on the next page

Training Program Outcomes Worksheet (continued)
RBE W O R K S H E E T
10
How willing
employees and
agents are to report
observed or
suspected violations
How satisfied
those who reported
observed or
suspected violations
are with
management’s
response
How committed
employees are to the
enterprise
How satisfied
stakeholders are that
the enterprise meets
their expectations
• Individual responsibility to
report concerns
• Communication channels
• Policy on confidentiality
• Policy against retaliation
• Manager or supervisor training
on advising employees
• Policies on confidentiality and
nonretaliation
• Help-line protocols
• Core beliefs about stakeholder
expectations
• Individual and enterprise roles
and responsibilities to
stakeholders
• Opportunities to enhance
enterprise reputation
• Opportunities to add value to
the community
• Individual or team skills,
knowledge, understanding, and
attitude development
• Core beliefs about stakeholder
expectations
• Individual and enterprise roles
and responsibilities to
stakeholders
• Opportunities to enhance
enterprise reputation
• Opportunities to add value to
the community
• Individual or team skills,
knowledge, understanding, and
attitude development
GeneralTrainingTopics
Performance
Measures SpecificTopics
Training
Objectives
180

181
Communications Infrastructure Worksheet
RBE W O R K S H E E T
11
Enterprise
Core Beliefs
Reference
Standards or
Best
Practices
Current
Structure
and
Practice
Required
Infrastructure
Means of
communicating
standards and
procedures and
establishing
expectations
RBE Worksheet 11, which may be photocopied for use within your enterprise, provides a tool for ensuring consideration of
all necessary infrastructure to communicate and solicit feedback about enterprise standards, procedures, and expectations.
Owners, managers, and staff members should discuss with their stakeholders each issue along the vertical axis to ensure that
they are consistent with their core beliefs and the reference standards and best practices developed in this chapter. From
this dialogue, they will be able to identify any required business ethics infrastructure.
Monitoring and
auditing procedures
and dialogue
mechanisms